GAMECOCKBOY
06-28-2006, 10:53 PM
thestate.com
By BOB SPEAR
Sports Editor
FILE
Alex EnglishRENALDO BALKMAN RODE two spectacular National Invitation Tournament performances into the basketball world’s consciousness and eventually decided to forego his final season at the University of South Carolina to test the professional waters.
He finds out tonight the result of his gamble.
Some pundits believe he will not be picked in the NBA draft’s two rounds, but his stock rose during pre-draft camps. One Web site calls him a sleeper pick and a potential bargain.
All of this gazing into a crystal ball might mean everything or nothing. A quick glance into the NBA draft’s history shows how inexact the science of predicting an athlete’s development can be.
The players undergo more pre-draft scrutiny than ever, and the teams theoretically leave no stone unturned in examining the possibilities.Yet they can miss. Landing with with the “right” coach or in the “right” system can make an important difference for a player.
Portland’s passing on Michael Jordan to select Sam Bowie always will be the classic example of a bungled draft choice, but just take a look at Balkman’s school, South Carolina, for an idea of how wrong the pro scouts can be.
The Gamecocks’ most decorated pro did not hear his name called until the draft’s second round — and he played his way into the Hall of Fame.
Carving a hefty legacy out of slim odds. To be fair, let’s point out that the draft process changes periodically, and a second-round selection 30 years ago might be a No.1 pick in today’s expanded league. In addition, allowing players who have not completed college eligibility can skew comparisons.
Nevertheless, in 1976, Alex English, then the Gamecocks’ career scoring leader, lasted until the NBA draft’s second round. He was the sixth pick in that round, the 23rd selection overall.
“My odds of getting to the NBA were very slim,” English said in an 1997 interview before his Hall of Fame induction. “I was told I was too skinny.”
Donnie Walsh, an assistant coach at USC during English’s playing days and now president of the Indiana Pacers, said English was better in the NBA than he was in college.
Indeed, English averaged 17.8 points a game in four seasons at Carolina and 21.5 in 15 years in the NBA. He was an All-Star eight times and became the first player to score more than 2,000 points in eight consecutive seasons.
He led all NBA players in scoring in the decade of the 1980s, topped the league with a 28.4 average in 1983 and ranked seventh in career points at retirement.
Balkman enters the play-for-pay world with far less gaudy credentials, and no one suggests he remotely resembles English in potential. In fact, inconsistency might be his college legacy. Prone to disappearing acts, he did not score in four games his final collegiate season.
Balkman’s averages of 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game hardly turn heads, but he did play spectacularly on some occasions, and he can use English’s college-to-pros jump for inspiration.
Teammates matter. College statistics can be misleading, of course. The quality of teammates becomes a factor, and English at times played with three future pros while at South Carolina — Kevin Joyce, Brian Winters and Mike Dunleavy.
Joyce, a senior in English’s freshman year, went in the first round of the 1973 draft with the 11th overall pick. A year later, Winters became a first-round pick with the 12th choice. Dunleavy, English’s classmate, was picked 99th in 1976.
Now, examine their pro achievements:
English, of course, landed in the Hall of Fame.
Dunleavy, the forgotten college player, lasted 11 years in the NBA, and the savvy that made him a solid player propelled him into the coaching ranks.
Winters, who played eight seasons in the pros, had his jersey retired by the Milwaukee Bucks before entering the coaching profession. He showed enough potential early in his career to be included in the deal that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers.
Joyce, who, like English, had his USC jersey retired, played three seasons in the old American Basketball Association.
Balkman, then, can look at history and see that the scouts’ projections can miss. For hope, he can look to a former Gamecocks star who played his way from the second round to the Hall of Fame.
By BOB SPEAR
Sports Editor
FILE
Alex EnglishRENALDO BALKMAN RODE two spectacular National Invitation Tournament performances into the basketball world’s consciousness and eventually decided to forego his final season at the University of South Carolina to test the professional waters.
He finds out tonight the result of his gamble.
Some pundits believe he will not be picked in the NBA draft’s two rounds, but his stock rose during pre-draft camps. One Web site calls him a sleeper pick and a potential bargain.
All of this gazing into a crystal ball might mean everything or nothing. A quick glance into the NBA draft’s history shows how inexact the science of predicting an athlete’s development can be.
The players undergo more pre-draft scrutiny than ever, and the teams theoretically leave no stone unturned in examining the possibilities.Yet they can miss. Landing with with the “right” coach or in the “right” system can make an important difference for a player.
Portland’s passing on Michael Jordan to select Sam Bowie always will be the classic example of a bungled draft choice, but just take a look at Balkman’s school, South Carolina, for an idea of how wrong the pro scouts can be.
The Gamecocks’ most decorated pro did not hear his name called until the draft’s second round — and he played his way into the Hall of Fame.
Carving a hefty legacy out of slim odds. To be fair, let’s point out that the draft process changes periodically, and a second-round selection 30 years ago might be a No.1 pick in today’s expanded league. In addition, allowing players who have not completed college eligibility can skew comparisons.
Nevertheless, in 1976, Alex English, then the Gamecocks’ career scoring leader, lasted until the NBA draft’s second round. He was the sixth pick in that round, the 23rd selection overall.
“My odds of getting to the NBA were very slim,” English said in an 1997 interview before his Hall of Fame induction. “I was told I was too skinny.”
Donnie Walsh, an assistant coach at USC during English’s playing days and now president of the Indiana Pacers, said English was better in the NBA than he was in college.
Indeed, English averaged 17.8 points a game in four seasons at Carolina and 21.5 in 15 years in the NBA. He was an All-Star eight times and became the first player to score more than 2,000 points in eight consecutive seasons.
He led all NBA players in scoring in the decade of the 1980s, topped the league with a 28.4 average in 1983 and ranked seventh in career points at retirement.
Balkman enters the play-for-pay world with far less gaudy credentials, and no one suggests he remotely resembles English in potential. In fact, inconsistency might be his college legacy. Prone to disappearing acts, he did not score in four games his final collegiate season.
Balkman’s averages of 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game hardly turn heads, but he did play spectacularly on some occasions, and he can use English’s college-to-pros jump for inspiration.
Teammates matter. College statistics can be misleading, of course. The quality of teammates becomes a factor, and English at times played with three future pros while at South Carolina — Kevin Joyce, Brian Winters and Mike Dunleavy.
Joyce, a senior in English’s freshman year, went in the first round of the 1973 draft with the 11th overall pick. A year later, Winters became a first-round pick with the 12th choice. Dunleavy, English’s classmate, was picked 99th in 1976.
Now, examine their pro achievements:
English, of course, landed in the Hall of Fame.
Dunleavy, the forgotten college player, lasted 11 years in the NBA, and the savvy that made him a solid player propelled him into the coaching ranks.
Winters, who played eight seasons in the pros, had his jersey retired by the Milwaukee Bucks before entering the coaching profession. He showed enough potential early in his career to be included in the deal that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers.
Joyce, who, like English, had his USC jersey retired, played three seasons in the old American Basketball Association.
Balkman, then, can look at history and see that the scouts’ projections can miss. For hope, he can look to a former Gamecocks star who played his way from the second round to the Hall of Fame.